The 1970 European Cup final was an association football match played between Feijenoord of the Netherlands and Celtic of Scotland on 6 May 1970 at the San Siro, Milan, Italy. The showpiece event was the final match of the 1969–70 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup. Feyenoord were appearing in their first final, while Celtic were appearing in their second final, after winning the competition in 1967. Feyenoord won 2–1 after extra time. Ove Kindvall's goal in the 117th minute meant the trophy was won by a Dutch club for the first time. It remains Feyenoord's only European Cup triumph.
For losing finalists Celtic, this marked the second, and to date most recent, European Cup final appearance in club history, after the famous win by the "Lisbon Lions" side in the 1967 edition. The match nearly never took place due to massive strikes throughout Italy in 1970; the Italian Football Federation backed down to ensure that their own clubs would be able to compete in further UEFA competitions.
Route to the final
FeyenoordRoundCelticOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg KR16–212–2 (H)4–0 (A)First round Basel2–00–0 (A)2–0 (H) AC Milan2–10–1 (A)2–0 (H)Second round Benfica3–3 (c)3–0 (H)0–3 (A) Vorwärts Berlin2–10–1 (A)2–0 (H)Quarter-finals Fiorentina3–13–0 (H)0–1 (A) Legia Warsaw2–00–0 (A)2–0 (H)Semi-finals Leeds United3–11–0 (A)2–1 (H)
Match
Summary In contrast to their win in the European Cup final three years prior, in which they had gone into the match as heavy underdogs against Inter Milan, this time around, Celtic entered the final as strong favourites over Feyenoord. However, despite Celtic's Tommy Gemmell opening the scoring after 30 minutes, they were outplayed by the Dutch outfit, whose manager, Ernst Happel, ensured Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone was double marked at all times, whilst the midfield trio of Franz Hasil, Willem van Hanegem, and Wim Jansen dominated their Scottish counterparts. Rinus Israël quickly equalised with his head; remarkably, this was the first goal of Feyenoord's European campaign that they scored away from their home stadium. In the second half, Celtic managed to hold on at 1–1 to force extra time.
With just a few minutes of extra-time remaining, a long free-kick from the Feyenoord half was sent towards the Celtic penalty area. Celtic defender and captain Billy McNeill stumbled and misjudged the ball, and as he tried to recover he appeared to punch the ball away. Before the referee had a chance to award a penalty, Ove Kindvall reacted quickly, running on and chipping the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Evan Williams to seal a 2–1 win for Feyenoord.
Details
GK 1 Eddy Pieters GraaflandRB 2 Piet Romeijn CB 4 Theo LaseromsCB 3 Rinus Israël (c) LB 5 Theo van DuivenbodeCM 7 Wim JansenRM 6 Franz HasilLM 10 Willem van HanegemRW 8 Henk WeryCF 9 Ove Kindvall LW 11 Coen MoulijnSubstitutes:MF 15 Guus Haak GK Eddy TreijtelDF Cor VeldhoenMF Piet VrauwdeuntDF Joop van DaeleManager: Ernst Happel GK 1 Evan WilliamsRB 2 David HayCB 5 Billy McNeill (c)CB 6 Jim BroganLB 3 Tommy Gemmell CM 4 Bobby MurdochCM 10 Bertie Auld RW 7 Jimmy JohnstoneCF 9 John HughesCF 8 Willie WallaceLW 11 Bobby LennoxSubstitutes:GK 12 John FallonRB 13 Jim Craig MF 14 George Connelly MF 15 Tommy CallaghanFW 16 Harry HoodManager: Jock Stein
See also 1969–70 Celtic F.C. season 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup final 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final 1970 Intercontinental Cup Feyenoord in international football Celtic F.C. in international football
Notes
References
External links European Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 1969-70 season at UEFA website